HPD Officer Slain In The Line Of Duty

[houstonmacbro]

as usual, the left and the right are trying to politicize it instead of solving the issue. i mean, how hard can it be to just come up with a policy and then enforce it, instead of gaining (or trying to) score political points!?!

[PureAuteur]

as usual, the left and the right are trying to politicize it instead of solving the issue. i mean, how hard can it be to just come up with a policy and then enforce it, instead of gaining (or trying to) score political points!?!

Well, part of this isssue deals with illegal immigration and part of it deals with police policy. Both can be politicized, one on the local level (police policy) and one on all levels of government (illegal immigration). I'm one of the biggest supporters of getting all illegal immigrants out of the country, and this news story is just another clipping I can save to show why we shouldn't have illegals wandering around our city, in this case because of the criminal element. Until they close the border completely, I feel like we are losing our national sovereignty.

[houstonmacbro]

i was not always for getting them out of the country, but my views changed when they started marching and demanding their 'rights'.

i was like, 'wtf, how come they are here illegally, and demanding rights in this country, but not demanding them in mexico, guatemala, etc.?!?'

i mean, c'mon ... if you want rights, why not start at home....

additionally, illegal immigration is unfair to others (such as africans, asians, indians, etc.) who wish to emigrate here and cannot do so ... they cannot just walk across the border ... they HAVE to go through the system ... these folks do not and therefore, makes it unfair to everyone else.

alll this amnesty is bogus. let them go back and come back when they get legally into the country, but they must do so (come here) like everyone else.

[feufoma]

Another horrible crime commited by someone who doesn't even have the right to be here in the first place!! I read that the defendant/ perp is a convicted felon (1999, indecency with a child) that was previously deported. Let's go ahead and execute this guy as proof that this type of crime will not be tolerated (maybe the message will get out to prospective (illegal) immigrants).

I realize that this type of crime could have also been commited by a U.S. citizen/ legal immigrant. But it wasn't. It's time to build a border wall and make it less desirable for those seeking to exploit our system(s) (e.g., legal, healthcare, wage structure). This horrible crime is just another example of why we need to shut down the flood of illegals into this country. Otherwise, we're going to lose this country. Print it.

[torvald]

HAIF guidelines:

"What is Prohibited: Vulgarity. Profanity. Personal attacks...."

"Vulgarities are not permitted. Using symbols to evade the banned

words filter will result in warnings. Repeated violations may result

in suspension or termination of your account..."

i wouldn't think that's is a free speech issue, it's a guidelines

issue that we all agreed to when we registered here.

[ssullivan]

The offending posts have been deleted. Thanks for reporting them. Everyone, please remember to keep it civil, that profanity is not allowed, and that regardless of your personal opinion of HPD, an officer's life was violently taken the other day for no real reason. Try to have some compassion. If you can't do that, please don't post.

[Guest Marty]

Officer Rodney Johnson's family will hold a visitation at the Grace Community Church on Gulf Freeway on Tuesday. Funeral services are scheduled at Grace Community Church at 10 am on Wednesday Sept 27. This hero will be buried at Veterans Memorial Cemetery.+

[musicman]

chief hurtt just went on good morning america and said that it was the federal government's fault that the officer was mortally wounded. GMA anchor then asked whether houston's sanctuary law was also a contributor since illegals are not arrested if found to be here illegally. chief hurtt said no that wasn't an issue but reiterated his federal position. ironically he was in north carolina for the interview. The officers i know said he is frequently if not weekly out of town.

[editor]

does anyone have an idea how many americans are killed by illegal immigrants every year? i heard it is somewhere in the neighborhod of 25 per month but have no site or statistics to back it up.

If you can't back it up, then why mention it? Without facts to support it, all you're doing is spreading a rumor. The world could do with fewer rumors.

The county people counts Latins as Whites. when it come to crime

They're probably just following the standards set by the Census Bureau since the crimes will eventually have to be filed into the federal database.

[torvald]

aside from the obvious emotions that a killing like this would bring,

there are some pretty strong emotions around my workplace.

there are police officers always on duty here, which (of course) feel

strongly about this, first generation and new legal immigrants which

seem to get flack whenever the "illegals" topic surfaces in the news

and people wha are totally removed and oblivious who rattle on and

on about it in front of the aforementioned people in a really

disrespectful manner.

makes it a bit tense at times...

[musicman]

As of 10:31 PM, live nor taped coverage has failed to confirm your previous allegation.

So, could you link us with something that would back your previous allegation?

When Andy Cerota questioned the Chief concerning the City's immigration policy AKA sanctuary policy. He really couldn't answer the question because he knew the City won't enforce these laws. Here is what the news director of ch13 sent me by email.

The mayor's office called ch 13 to question the term

"sanctuary City" when describing the current immigration policy, they

feel it is inflammatory and does not reflect the city's true policy.

Our story reflected the generalized feeling of many city council

members. When asked at the news conference, chief hurtt did not dispute

the term sanctuary city and even stated that he was happy with the

recent modifications to the policy.

David T. Strickland

Vice President & News Director

KTRK Television

[nmainguy]

When Andy Cerota questioned the Chief concerning the City's immigration policy AKA sanctuary policy. He really couldn't answer the question because he knew the City won't enforce these laws. Here is what the news director of ch13 sent me by email.

The mayor's office called ch 13 to question the term

"sanctuary City" when describing the current immigration policy, they

feel it is inflammatory and does not reflect the city's true policy.

Our story reflected the generalized feeling of many city council

members. When asked at the news conference, chief hurtt did not dispute

the term sanctuary city and even stated that he was happy with the

recent modifications to the policy.

David T. Strickland

Vice President & News Director

KTRK Television

This was your reckless comment:

QUOTE(musicman @ Friday, September 22nd, 2006 @ 8:56pm)

In fact after the interview, HPD called ch13 to clarify the chief's words because it did make him look 2nd rate.

What you pasted above has no relation to anyone at HPD calling 13 to clarify the chief's words.

[musicman]

This was your reckless comment:

What you pasted above has no relation to anyone at HPD calling 13 to clarify the chief's words.

when you can't answer the question a reporter asked specifically....it makes you look 2nd rate. This is a big issue for the administration.

as chief of police you should be able to answer question directly instead of saying it is a federal issue. enforcing law is everyone's problem. you can't ignore some laws then enforce others.

After the officer's funeral this week, i'm sure this will be brought up at City Council.

[Montrose1100]

Its sad to lose an officer, but a certain news channel blew it up to hurricane statis.

[VicMan]

The guy who killed the officer was convicted of sex crimes with a child!

The man should not have been deported. He should have been sentenced to prison and locked up in solitairy confinement.

[KimberlySayWhat]

Marty:

The county people counts Latins as Whites. when it come to crime

I don't know if you were being sarcastic, but I've been wondering about that myself. The guy who broke into my house two months ago is hispanic with a hispanic last name. Yet on his records his race is stated as white.

[nmainguy]

I don't know if you were being sarcastic, but I've been wondering about that myself. The guy who broke into my house two months ago is hispanic with a hispanic last name. Yet on his records his race is stated as white.

It's probably because there is no Hispanic race-or "white" for that matter. Most Hispanics in Houston are Caucasian.

[houstonmacbro]

but as mentioned previously there are many hispanics of lots of different races: african descent, latin descent, caucasian descent, etc.

we are having that argument here. we have a hispanic person but he is considered as black in our marketing stats even though he is spanish speaking and considers himself hispanic.

how come the double-standard?

[musicman]

but as mentioned previously there are many hispanics of lots of different races: african descent, latin descent, caucasian descent, etc.

we are having that argument here. we have a hispanic person but he is considered as black in our marketing stats even though he is spanish speaking and considers himself hispanic.

how come the double-standard?

A hispanic can be ANY color, just like africans can be any color.

[RedScare]

Just to clarify a few things for those who are interested in the non-politicized facts.

Defendants in Harris County are listed by race (Black or White), and, if need be, further identified by ethnic origin. A Mexican national would generally be classified as White of Hispanic origin. A Haitian would be classified as Black of Hispanic origin.

Houston Police and Harris County identify, if possible, those that are in the country without documentation. If the only purpose for the stop is traffic, or to ascertain legal status, they do not question. Witnesses are also not questioned. Arrestees are questioned as to status, and if undocumented, ICE is notified. ICE has officers working at the County Jail whose only job is to identify criminals without documentation. The Probation Department also notifies ICE of undocumented aliens. ICE has become fairly aggressive in deporting undocumented criminals in the past year. Because of limitations, felons are deported most often. Misdemeanor violators, other than assault defendants are deported less often.

The City's policy on questioning on status is a pragmatic one. If HPD arrested every status offender, they would have to house them. We do not have anywhere NEAR the room to house status arrestees. Furthermore, ICE will not take status violators who have not committed more serious violations. Therefore, HPD's arrests of status violators would merely result in the violator being released by ICE, with nothing done. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize this is a waste of time and scarce resources. Therefore, this really does become a federal problem, since only the immigration authorities can prosecute and deport someone, and they refuse to do so because of budget limitations.

In the last 12 years, 10 officers have died. 3 were off-duty, 3 died in traffic accidents. Only Ofcr. Johnson was killed by an illegal alien. If I were to check the other 90 officers who have died in the last 150 years, I doubt more than a couple were killed by illegals. Those who use Ofcr. Johnson's death to further their own ideological agendas do him a great injustice.

[houstonmacbro]

not according to some. when they think hispanic they think only mexican, guatemalan, or salvadoran.

[tierwestah]

his funeral was today- over 4000 people showed up. My prayers go out to his wife and 5 children

[nmainguy]

but as mentioned previously there are many hispanics of lots of different races: african descent, latin descent, caucasian descent, etc.

we are having that argument here. we have a hispanic person but he is considered as black in our marketing stats even though he is spanish speaking and considers himself hispanic.

how come the double-standard?

I'm not sure what the double standard is. I have a friend from Cuba who is a Hispanic Negro. He considers himself to be just that: a Hispanic Negro. Maybe your subject does as well. Race vs. Ethnicity is on of the more misunderstood issues-and maybe in the end not all that important, huh?

BTW, houstonmacbro=one handsome man regardless of race or ethnicity!

[houstonmacbro]

thanks.

hey, how did we get off the officer johnson post into race and ethnicity in the first place?

[nmainguy]

thanks.

hey, how did we get off the officer johnson post into race and ethnicity in the first place?

Marty's post #26 replying to your question in post#25. BTW, did you ever find any stats?

[houstonmacbro]

no, i never found any murder statistics by illegal aliens. not even sure if/where i heard what i thought i heard...

[Guest Marty]

Bill Oreilly and Glen Beck have chimed in on this tragedy on the national news level. I don't wont any body to forget what happened here. there should be a major overhaul regarding city politicians and the police chief.

[musicman]

Bill Oreilly and Glen Beck have chimed in on this tragedy on the national news level. I don't wont any body to forget what happened here. there should be a major overhaul regarding city politicians and the police chief.

something definitely needs to be done. the Mayor has even gone on tv saying they do enforce immigration laws which was surprising. now that the funeral is over, i'm sure it will be discussed at council.

[ricco67]

Bill Oreilly and Glen Beck have chimed in on this tragedy on the national news level. I don't wont any body to forget what happened here. there should be a major overhaul regarding city politicians and the police chief.

You know, I took a great deal of offense on how it's being portrayed in the media. first off, they claim it's JUST because he's an illegal alien.

They totally ignore the fact that the officer failed to follow procedure and pat him down properly. While I'm not saying it's an excuse, anyone of any nationality could have been in the backseat.

If anything, this news story should be magnified for the entire force is that they should be diligent in pat downs.

[musicman]

You know, I took a great deal of offense on how it's being portrayed in the media. first off, they claim it's JUST because he's an illegal alien.

They totally ignore the fact that the officer failed to follow procedure and pat him down properly. While I'm not saying it's an excuse, anyone of any nationality could have been in the backseat.

If anything, this news story should be magnified for the entire force is that they should be diligent in pat downs.

very true ricco. I believe several policies will be revisited as a result. It would be interesting to see just home many hours he has been working each week with the overtime. When you get tired, you just don't do a thorough job at every task. South Texas College of Law Professor Gerald Treece was just on 11news talking about this. He said this will be interesting because currently Houston IS a sanctuary city and the current administration refuses to address the problem.